Ref cam, a new view on rugby

John Eales

There used to be a saying among Parisians that the best view of Paris was from La Tour Eiffel. This wasn't hatched as praise for the magnificence of Gustave Eiffel's creation for the 1889 World's Fair but rather a veiled sledge, as the only place in Paris from which you couldn't see the “unsightly” tower was from the tower itself.

The rugged Queensland Reds versus NSW Waratahs match on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, won 25-17 by the Reds, saw the innovation “ref cam” – where Chris Pollock was the first Super Rugby referee to have a camera attached to his head.

Kane Douglas of the Waratahs soars high in the lineout on Saturday against the Reds in Brisbane. Photo: Getty Images

Is this now the best view of rugby – the only view from which you are guaranteed not to see the referee?

Admittedly, that's a bit hard on the refs and they already have an image problem with no easy fix. They are forever the butt of many – albeit mostly well-intentioned – jokes, to the extent that, in UK football and rugby, optometrists Specsavers sponsor them.

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But in the spirit of television-led innovation despite some, at times, shaky pictures (it is difficult to get a referee who doesn't constantly shake his head from side to side, “No, you can't do this or that”) this is a good move from the Fox Sports team. Television has led some of the most important innovations in sport. In tennis, think hawk-eye; cricket, stump cam and the third umpire; in rugby and rugby league the video referee.

Innovation is about inventing something new but it can also be about finding new applications for old tools.

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One of the best examples of innovation and progress is evidenced in the athletic pursuit of the high jump. The scissors led to the straddle and on to the western roll before Dick Fosbury developed his flop, which was anything but. The record advanced accordingly and it is now held by Cuban Javier Sotomayor, at an extraordinary height of 2.45 metres. Interestingly, with no further innovation, advancement has stalled and this record is 20 years old –the longest standing record in this event. The women's record of 2.09 metres, set by Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova in 1987, is the longest-held record in that event.

One of the attractions of ref cam is that it brings the viewer into the heart of the scrum and its dark arts – the most misunderstood and feared, and in some cases loathed, part of the game.

A camera entering this sacred zone is akin to strapping a GoPro on George Pell when he joins the college of Cardinals in the conclave to elect the new pontiff. Now, that would be fascinating.

No matter the innovation, however, some will maintain that a scrum is still a scrum no matter how close you get to it. But if it gives the viewer greater insight and appreciation of such a specialised skill, they are on to a winner, as downtime becomes theatre.

It might not create the Shane Warne effect and have every child in Australia wanting to pack down for their country, nor do I see it putting props on the cover of Vogue or the emergence of a Hong Kong eights scrum festival, it does turn a potential negative into a positive.

Our few glimpses on Saturday had you wanting more. More use and a well-structured feedback loop will drive improvement.

And aside from opening up scrummaging to the world, ref cam also gave a different perspective in open play when Ed Quirk broke tackles and presented the ball for the Reds' match-sealing try.

If the average viewer had their own camera, however, curiosity would have set it on Israel Folau for his Super Rugby debut. An undoubted athletic talent – now having played at first-class level in three codes – Folau had an encouraging debut.

It is unrealistic to expect him to be a walk-up star. If you focused on his dropped balls and hesitancy in the tackle when Dom Shipperley scored the opening try, you wouldn't be enthralled. Equally, he didn't break through a solid Reds defensive line, but there was enough there to appreciate his ability.

I have only one main concern about ref cam: that rather than render referees invisible, it entices the odd one to see himself as Quentin Tarantino and write himself into the script with more than the role he has at present. The better muse for them may be Marcel Marceau, a star seen but not heard.

The Eiffel Tower's image has turned around and now it is the most visited paid monument in the world.